Though it's keeping the unofficially dubbed iPhone 5 largely under wraps, Apple offered an intriguing peek under the hood -- information about the forthcoming phone's operating system, iOS 6. And what we now know about iOS 6 is that Apple is focused on winning the battle for the mobile Web against Google by cozying up to
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(FB) and by introducing its own mobile map software, which has been a Google success story.

The Apple map platform, which is based on
TomTom'
s (TMOAF) technology, features turn-by-turn navigation and traffic information that is "crowd-sourced," the Silicon Valley term for information, labor, or money produced by masses via the Internet.

So, instead of relying on a traffic service, the information is simply supplied by an egalitarian gang of iPhone users in their cars. In fact, Apple dropped strong hints that it sees the iPhone as an integral component of the average car, which bodes ill for Garmin (GRMN) and other makers of automotive aftermarket navigation devices and music players. Analysts suspect that TomTom, a leading manufacturer of global-positioning-system gadgets, saw the writing on the wall and agreed to license its software in hopes of salvaging a portion of its own revenue streams.

Making maps even more useful will be Siri, Apple's voice-activated personal assistant; she will now have a feature that launches software applications vocally. Say something like "Go to Twitter," and Siri will take you there. Say "Open mail" and you can immediately check your e-mail. Apple is calling this its "Eyes Free" feature. The new improved Siri will also be able to produce sports scores, make dinner reservations, and buy movie tickets.

Apple will integrate Facebook deeper into iOS 6, allowing photos to be shared directly to the social network and letting users "like" songs in the iTunes online store. That is yet another differentiation with Google's Android operating system.

ALMOST 80% OF APPLE'S 365 million mobile devices are using its most recent operation system, version iOS 5, while Android-based devices are using multiple versions of the Google operating system, many of which are older and less robust. Apple's high conversion rate ensures that the lion's share of its mobile users -- whether on older phones or iPads -- will adopt IOS 6, keeping Apple ahead in the mobile race.

The Web-fueled rumor mill says that the latest iPhone is expected to begin production later this month, with delivery slated for the fall, but this of course is conjecture. One thing is certain. Apple will deliver its latest operating system for Macs, called "Mountain Lion," in about a month. How do we know? The company actually said so.